The Senior Pastor of The Covenant Christian Centre Lagos, Pastor Poju Oyemade, has disagreed with prominent preachers against the continuous closure of churches over the COVID-19 pandemic.

Though the lockdown has been eased in Lagos, Ogun and FCT, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered worship centres will remain shut till further notice.

But founder of Christ Embassy, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, slammed the authorities for closing churches, saying they should be healing centres.

Founder of Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, backed Oyakhilome, stating the continuous closure of churches was suspicious.

According to him, it was part of the moves to stop the church of God from expanding.

But Oyemade, whose birthday on his Instagram page, said the closure of churches does not in any way stop the Holy Spirit from working.

Making reference to the Bible, he said: “The sick healed in the book of Acts were healed on the streets, in people’s homes, in public places and not within the four walls of a Church.”

He added: “Closing the doors of a physical building does not in any way mean the closure of the anointing of the Spirit from working.

“Church buildings may be shut down but true faith and the anointing of the Spirit has not stopped working.

“There is a difference between expression of emotions and the manifestation of the anointing to heal the sick.

“There is nowhere in Jesus’s ministry where the healing of the sick was preceded by a congregational service.

“In the Book of Acts, the sick were healed predominantly on the streets with no fanciful service going on.

“Closure of a church building does not stop the rivers of living water from flowing out of your belly. It resides in our inner man.

“There was collective prayer to receive a supply of the Spirit which led to outdoor manifestations.

He referred to Apostle Paul insisting Christians don’t have to be together in a physical space to receive that supply.

“Did he not say to the Church at Phillipi, I know this shall turn to my salvation through your prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus? The Church was miles away from where Paul was.

“Charles Finney began a massive revival by people praying in their homes all keeping watches at the same time. They all chose the exact time to pray and they did in their homes until the Spirit broke out on the streets.

“They did not criticise any other Church or ministry of weakness. Criticizing others doesn’t attest to the fact that you have strength. They only stayed with God until something broke out on the streets.”

LearnITsmash:
Useless men of dogs, all these clowns named pastors need to be jailed for adding no value to the country

honeyB2018:
Pastor Poju, is 100% wrong. I'm not surprised he can spew this nonsense.
Lots of people, don't see and understand what Bishop Oyedepo and Pastor Oyakhilome Chris is seeing and talking about. Lots of you, toeing the line of thought of Pastor Oyemade, don't know, the power of the cooperate church. If you know, you will not be in his support.
You don't know, what damage, spiritually the closure of the place of worship has done to lots of believers, lots of Christians will never be the same after this lockdown and closure Wait till the closure is lifted, then you will understand.
I stand with Bishop Oyedepo and Pastor Chris. Oyakhilome.

litigator:

How many church buildings did Apostles Peter and Paul build?

Kindly educate my ignorance.
I await your timely response, God bless.
.

petra1:


This is not about buildings it's about the fact that The church is a gathering. And its ordained to gather




Matthew 18:20
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

1 Corinthians 5:4
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and online via the deployment of the online church

Has gathering stopped? Assuming there was military warfare with bombs raining down from the sky and bullets in all directions, will you advocate any form of physical assembly?

honeyB2018:
Pastor Poju, is 100% wrong. I'm not surprised he can spew this nonsense.
.

litigator:

By the way, you did not address the second and third arm of my question. Are being dodgy and cherry picking?

Openbusiness:
I stand with Pastor Chris and Bishop Oyedepo! Pastor Chris we know, Bishop Oyedepo we know, hu be this wan?

Openbusiness:
I stand with Pastor Chris and Bishop Oyedepo! Pastor Chris we know, Bishop Oyedepo we know, hu be this wan?